Dodging Skill
by Das Leech
Summary: Shikamaru wakes up to find himself in a rather compromising position. What's a guy to do to avoid getting pounded? [ShikaTem]


DISCLAIMER: I don't own any part of Naruto. I wouldn't mind owning other peoples parts of the Narutoverse but sadly those are also already taken. What I'm left with is the main story idea and my imagination going wild. This was supposed to be fluffy, but somehow I didn't manage. It's still cute enough to post though, I guess.

---

This is what he liked to call a most troublesome problem at hand.

Usually waking up for him was something he enjoyed, even while traveling. Those precious minutes he just lay there half awake, waiting for his mind to fully awaken from its slumber he enjoyed most.

Not this time though.

Here he lay in the bed he slept in last night, staring up at the ceiling and trying desperately to diffuse the situation at hand without it blowing up right into his face. He felt his shirt and boxers clinging to his skin, just like the half of the blanket that was covering him. How could he have slept so long with this kind of heat? Even now, he felt the temperature steadily rising and wished he could just jump out of bed to get away from that warmth. Her warmth.

Just to make sure, he mentally recalled the last evening. He checked in with his traveling companion and ate a bite before he realized he was not up to the usual teasing game that came naturally when she was around. He went to the bathhouse to take a hot shower, then went back to the hotel to check his room for any traps and stripped out of his clothes before he lay down to sleep after just a bit of stargazing. No alcohol, drugs or anything to make him forget important bits that led to the fact she was now lying in his bed. To make matters worse, she didn't sleep in her full clothes either, a sight that was probably safely stored into the back of his brain. After he realized he couldn't think clearly while staring at her mostly naked backside safe for some underwear he turned to stare at the ceiling instead. That was his current situation. Running away was tempting, but since he had to travel around with her to deliver a message from Suna to Konoha, he couldn't avoid her forever, so he might as well get this over with.

The problem was, it wasn't even his fault. She would blame him of course, probably beating him senseless because he had seen her half-naked and she was with him in his bed. Women always were like that. He quickly looked around to make sure it actually _was _his room after all. His clothes were at the same place he left them at and the door was still locked up. The window was open though.

'Man … I could've been dead if this was an attempt to kill me in my sleep. Come to think of it, I'm still in mortal danger once she gets to her fan. _If _she gets to her fan before we cleared this up.'

A small smile came to his lips. It would piss her off to no end if he used the Shadow Copy Technique on her again, but it was still better than getting beaten into a bloody pulp before having the slightest chance to explain things.

He shifted slightly to get his hands together before he rediscovered an important fact. She could wake up to any of his movements being the kunoichi she was. His ever so slight movement of hands caused her to shift uneasily and he felt a few drops of sweat trickling down his forehead. Shikamaru inhaled deeply before he rapidly brought his hands together to form his famous hand seal. She was slightly slower than him although his sudden movement caused her to lurch upward, seemingly wide awake and expecting an ambush but then she stopped altogether.

Temari was used to waking up slowly just like Shikamaru. She usually trained to have a light sleep and the slightest movement woke her up instantly, though rather unpleasantly. Her expression was that much more pissed off when she realized what happened to stop her in the middle of her attack. One hand was still pointing accusingly at Shikamaru, ready to strike if she could lift a finger on her own. Instead, she mimicked his position, sitting awkwardly cross-legged with her arms crossed. For a moment, all she could do was stare. The whole room reverberated her voice once she got over the shock though.

"WHAT THE HELL DIM-WIT! WHAT'S THE BIG IDEA WAKING ME UP? WHAT ARE YOU DOING IN MY ROOM?"

Shikamaru winced with every word and covered his ears briefly, thus pissing Temari off even more who was mimicking the gesture.

"Look here, Temari, that's what-"

"I SWEAR I'M GOING TO RIP YOUR THROAT OUT ONCE YOUmmpf!"

Sighing, the boy picked at his mouth, causing Temari to do the same. Only that she was forced to jab at the forehead protector that was placed firmly in her mouth, the same that was dangling around her neck the moment before.

"Sure, Temari. Still, I'd like you to be reasonable here. Look around and you will discover that _you_ are in fact in _my_ room." His expression showed that he was beyond fed up with the situation.

Her eyes narrowed accusingly before roaming through the room. For a moment she looked dumbstruck, then she blushed faintly and lowered her eyes.

'Guess that left her speechless too.' He thought with a relieved sigh. He brought his and her arm up to un-gag her.

"You'll be reasonable then?" He intoned with that same annoyed voice as usual.

She merely nodded in reply, keeping her eyes averted. With a shrug he let the technique dissipate and she stood up wordlessly, draping the blanket around her as she went to the door, and left the room, the blush still evident on her cheeks.

Shikamaru blinked for a moment before shrugging it off. He'd never understand women anyways and he wasn't going to start now.

---

They didn't talk until they were on the road to Konoha again and he wondered briefly if she was already planning her revenge when she muttered something under her breath.

"Excuse me?"

She muttered again, not sparing him a glance and he sighed, weighting his possibilities. Ignoring it could have less troublesome consequences but he learned before that ignoring her equaled getting bopped in the head by her fan. He moved a little closer to her and furrowed his brows in concentration.

"Repeat that again."

She looked at him skeptically now before sighing and murmuring:

"I'm a sleepwalker."

Okay, that wasn't what he expected. He managed a small chuckle at her simple explanation and her odd moment of honesty. Always coming up with something to throw him off balance seemed so like her he just had to shake his head at her words.

"Sure."

"…"

A sudden, unbidden thought came to his mind and the beginnings of a smirk showed on his features. Why not turn the tables? The experience was worth the trouble. He carefully thought about what he would say next before he spoke up again.

"You looked kind of cute when you blushed back there." Score. He managed to get the same reaction from her again. The teasing game today would be to his favor. Just a little bit more. It might've been troublesome, but even he couldn't let this opportunity pass.

"And I didn't know I could stop your troublesome banter so easi-"

**WHAM!**

"Ow."

When the dust settled, she strapped her fan back on and crouched down to Shikamaru, now firmly planted on the ground face first with a lump on his head.

"And if you ever do this again, you'll find me in your bed one morning for some entirely more _troublesome_ reason than this." She hissed at him, giving special attention to his favorite phrase.

He mentally sighed and rubbed the new injury. So much for avoiding a bashing. Whatever he did, somehow his tactics always didn't work out like he wanted them to when she was involved.


End file.
